>> i wouldn't go to sochi if it was the last place on earth -- well, maybe. >> don't forget to set your dvrs so you never miss an episode of "the five." we'll see you back here tomorrow. "special report" next. the verdict on benghazi from a democrat-run senate intel committee. al qaeda groups did it. it could have been prevented, and lot of unanswered questions lead directly to hillary clinton and the white house. this is "special report." good evening. i'm bret baier. for the first time, we're learning tonight that members of two al qaeda terror affiliates were involved in the deadly attack on the u.s. facilities in benghazi, libya, 16 months ago. that is one of the shocking highlights from the senate intelligence committee report released today. its chair, democratic senator dianne feinstein. some of the other highlights,

matching the republican led house armed services committee tranvpts we brought you earlier this year, it was known almost immediately the attacks were not the outgroelth of a protest over a video, however, the importance of that intelligence was minimized. and to this day, the state department has refused to provide the senate committee with key witnesses and documents. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge has more specifics. >> the new senate report blows apart claims that the benghazi attack was the work of local militias with no formal terrorist connections. >> several al qaeda members emerged as k50i7bd of leaders of the pack. >> saxly chambliss, the ranking member on the intelligence committee said the former guantanamo detainees first identified by fox news as a suspect 16 months ago, was at the heart of the operation. >> certainly, he was very much involved in the planning of this. >> is he a member of al qaeda? >> well, he is a member of a group that is affiliated with al qaeda. so in my mind, that makes him al

qaeda. >> there were seven reports from the cia and defense intelligence agency between june 12th and september 7th, 2012 between the growing cooperation between the affiliates and the terrorists on the ground in libya, and while the c arx a ramped up security, the embassy did not. the committee saw the state department classified cable first reported by fox news that summarized an marjs meeting in benghazi one month before the assault which warned that al qaeda training camps were operating and they couldn't defend against a coordinated attack. >> they resisted in a long time in providing it to us, but at the end of the day, we did secure the cable. >> he says it's a part of the pattern where the state department continues to block access to witnesses and documents that could have explained if a white house meeting that included secretary panetta, hillary clinton and president obama could have prevented it.

>> we have been stonewalled. we asked time and again, who was in the meeting and what was the substance of the meeting? and we have not gotten answers to that. >> the administration continues to hang its hat on a very narrow definition of al qaeda. which encompassed the leadership in pakistan known as the core. >> we still have no indications core al qaeda was involved in directing or doing this attack. >> dianne feinstein who leads the committee says she hopes it will put to rest the conspiracy theories. jay carney said the findings re-enforce what other investigations have found, but he failed to address one of the most significant findings, that benghazi was an al qaeda-led event. >> thank you. >> the foomally ofening american soldier seen on a video intercepted by his captors but not wryet in the public domain again pleading for his release. video of bo burga doll was found

several days ago. he was taken prisoner in afghanistan in june of 2009. he appears shaken and gaunt. he makes a reference to the recent death of nelson mandela, which we're told is done for the purpose of dating it. it's believed he's held somewhere in pakistan. carnage today in iraq. a series of bombs have left dozens dead and fear of al qaeda at the highest points since american troops pulled out two years ago. senior foreign affairs correspondent greg has the story from london. >> it was one of the bloodiest days in iraq in months. over 75 people killed in nine insurgent attacks across the country. the busy neighborhood in baghdad hit by two blasts, including a car bomb that left many dead and injured. in bucube a, a funeral was targeted, 18 killed in that attack, and in fallujah, the standoff between police and militants continues. all this violence bringing back

vivid memories of the worst days of bloodshed in 2006 and 2007. in a tv address today, embattled iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki pledged to fight to the finish. trr trr this battle is a sacred battle. it will be long and it will continue. >> he said his forces could still use more light and heavy artillery. the u.s. is rushing delivery of drones and a limited amount of missiles. irain rn foreign minister offered his country's support, military hardware haas been promised as well. analyst said say more outreach is needed by the government of al maliki and the sunni muslim minority. they offered to back seeny tribal leaders in their fight with militanmilitant. few have been following the recent events more than those who put themselves in harm's way to make it a safer place. like clayton south. we were embedded with him and the marines india company in the invasion of fallujah in 2004.

he was badly hurt and now runs an organization supporting injured veterans. >> and all the brother, you know, that didn't return home and all the lives that were damaged and destroyed, it's disheartening. we feel like they left us behind. we feel betrayed. >> yet, one more footnote. iraq 2004, the marines tell fox news they're investigating the veracity of photos reportedly showing u.s. troops burning kormss in fallujah at the time. they were posted online today. the spokesman went on to say that if wrongdoing is found, those troops could be prosecuted. bret. >> greg, live in london. thank you. let's get some thoughts on the increasing violence in iraq and who's responsible from senior political analyst brit hume. >> hi, bret. iraq's descent once more into a chaotic and violent place where al qaeda runs free may not be unvoidable. much of the blame must go to the maliki government for the

mismanagement of affairs and alienation of the sunni population. it is worth remembering that al qaeda in iraq suffered a humiliating defeat thanks in large part to u.s. forges that surged into the country at the end of the bush administration. was bequeathed to president obama was described as late as december as a key partner for the u.s. in the region and a voice of moderation and democracy in the middle east, but it hardly seems to be that now. not only did president obama pull all u.s. troops out of the country after failing to negotiate an agreement to allow a residual force to stay, he has generally acted since as if iraq did not exist. with a place now in crisis, the administration wants congress to approve the sale of apache helicopters and is sending other armaments to the government. they might not agree on the helicopter said, but there's now no support for sending u.s. forces back to the country. perhaps the maliki government can repel the terrorists on iltits

on, but the influence of iran is on the rise. the gain by u.s. blood and treasure are fast disappearing. >> what about the political consequences of all this happening now? >> well, clearly, the poor governance of the maliki government gets the blame here, but this is a place where al qaeda was clearly defeated. it was a major defeat. if it returns there, questions are going to be asked about how could this happen? what this administration is saying, that al qaeda is on the run, make distinctions about core al qaeda and what's not, but if al qaeda ends up having a free run in iraq, there's going to be questions and people are going to want to know why. >> brit, thank you. what do you think the u.s. should do about iraq? let me know at facebook.com/bretbayer, sr, or on dwiter. up next, is president obama the solution or the problem? we'll find out what americans think. but first, here's what some of

our fox affiliates across the country are covering tonight. fox32 in chicago, where the city council there has voted to ban the use of e cigarettes anywhere smoking is prohibited. e-cigarettes will also be moved behind retail store counter said and their sale to minors there will be outlawed. wpri in providence says the daughter of a new jersey woman whose casket contained the wrong body says dna tests will be performed to determine if her mother was accidentally cremated in canada. and this is a live look at dallas from kdfw, the big story there tonight, an update on the lawsuit filed by the family of a brain-dead pregnant woman. they want to take her off life support, but texas law prohibits that because of the pregnancy. that's a look outside the beltway from "special report." we'll be right back. ooh, homemade soup! yeah...

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well, not exactly like yours. as president obama tries to position himself as a champion of working class people and the

jobless, the american people seem to believe he and the rest of the government are the biggest problems they face. a new gallup poll finds 21% feel that way. the economy in general, 18%. unemployment, 16%. this comes as the president plays catch-up in the promise department. here's ed henry. >> it's good to be back in north carolina. >> less than two weeks before he delivers this year's state of the union, president obama is racing to follow through on last year's state of the union promises. >> this has to be a year of action. >> a few days ago, he fleshed out the so-called promise zones he unveiled last february, while today he was in north carolina promoting a manufacturing initiative also announced in last year's address. >> i hope you'll focus on actually getting the job done instead of just providing another distraction. another distraction from the pain of obamacare. and the obama economy. >> at nc state, the president played the slow uptake as a sign of careful consideration.

>> so today, after almost a year of competition, i'm pleased to announce america's newest high-tech manufacturing hub, which is going to be focused on the next generation of power electronics. is going to be based right here in raleigh, in north carolina. that's good news. >> good news the state democratic senator kay hagan did not want to share. she's locked in a tough re-election battle in a swing state the president carried in 2008 and lost in 2012, so she skipped the event, citing senate work in washington. >> your senator kay hagan couldn't be here, but i wanted to thank her publicly for the great work she's doing. >> the president' fellow democrats are cool to the idea of him using the state of the union to push a specific trade agreement that could increase u.s. exports. republicans say the deal could actually create some jobs. >> these are just a few of the many areas where we could work

together to get things done for the american people. >> the president insisted today he's ready to work with congress where he can, though he also repeated something similar to what he said yesterday about operating unilaterally in the new year, too. >> i've got a pen and a phone, and i can use the phone to sign executive orders and take executive actions and administrative actions to move the ball forward. >> the president is trying to put the economy front and center, but the unemployment rate has been coming down largely because discouraged people are leaving the work force. if the labor participation rate was as high as the start of the recession, unemployment would currently top 11%. >> thank you. as ed mentioned, one of the most striking elements of the presidential visit in north carolina was who was not there. carl cameron tells us one notable absence leads to questions about whether the president is a liability for democrats this election year.

>> possible senate votes gave vulnerable fresh monica hagen an alibi from being in her home town where the president poses a threat to her at-risk re-election. they have targeted her seat as one of six needed to claim the majority. >> senator hagen is nowhere to be found where her buddy barack is in north carolina, she's in washington hiding out. >> at the white house, spokesman jay carney attacked the media when asked if the white house worries that mr. obama's growing popularity hurts democrats and if hagen wasn't blowing off the president with a lame excuse. >> i understand having been there, the urgent desire to turn every story ten months out into an election story. i promise you this is not one. >> my question is this, does the president worry that he is a drag at this point? in a time where he needs to maintain the senate so -- >> all i can tell you is the president is traveling to north carolina.

>> it's launched more than 20 million of attack ads on democrats who backed obamacare. >> if you have health insurance now, you're happy with it, you can keep it. >> now, we know the truth. they have told us the biggest lie of the year. >> hagen trails five potential gop rivals by a point or two in the latest poll by the democrat-leaning policy poll of registered voters. among independents, she trailed them all by double digits. she's hardly the only democrat to pass on a home state appearance with president obama. just a few weeks ago, he visited louisiana and gave mary landrieu an air force one flight home, but she had other plans. >> thank you. a positive day on wall street today. the dow was up 108. the s&p 500 rose ten. the nasdaq jumps 32. late this afternoon, the white house passed the massive trillion dollar spending view. all 5200 pages go to the senate. earlier today, they approved a

three-day funding to avoid a government shutdown at midnight tonight. still ahead, is the obama administration about to discr discriminate against veterans who do not use the internet? plus, if you think the federal obamacare exchanges are a mess, wait until you hear about some of the state ones. o open to innovation. open to ambition. open to boldids. that's why n york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and ows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com.

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at a company that's bringing media and technology together. next is every second of nbcuniversal's coverage 0f the 2014 olympic winter games. it's connecting over one million low-income americans to broadband internet at home. it's a place named one america's most veteran friendly employers. next is information and entertainment in ways you never thought possible. welcome to what's next. comcastnbcuniversal. another delay for obamacare. the government says it's extending the enrollment deadline for people in a pre-existing conditions transition plan from the end of this month to march 15th. also today, a federal judge rejected a conservative challenge to the obamacare exchanges. plaintiffs had argued the health care law allows subsidies to people in state-run exchanges

only. only 14 states have those. jim ingle tells us it turns out things may even be worse in some of the states than in the federal system. >> vicky is the face of the breakdown in state exchanges. in her case, maryland. >> to me, it's very personal. and it's very frustrating because the system has failed me. >> vicky, who is self-employed, started trying to sign up in early october. she eventually went to an official navigator for howard county, which signed her up, gave her a confirmation number, and a print-out of the plan she chose. then she hit a brick wall. >> i was told by the insurance company i selected that they have no record of me. i did go to the state navigation system, and they have no record of me. >> that's the same problem the federal government had, the so-called backend of the system, which tells state officials and insurance companies who has

enrolled. >> the back end is not working. there's no way to effectively match policies and people. >> we know there wasn't enough time for what's called the end-to-end testing in these states to really make sure that the whole system worked together. >> facing a deadline to pay a premium to get coverage, vicky reached out to the governor, her lawmakers in washington, and the white house, as well as the state exchange. >> i was told by both the maryland health connection and the trouble shooting site that somebody would get back to me in two to three days and i never heard from anybody. >> she did get a letter from senator barbara mccullsky saying, quote, i'm just as frustrated as you are about the launch of health reform. i'm particularly disappointed that the exchange websites did not operate smoothly. maryland, which initially claimed to be a national model, had signed up less than 19,000 by the end of december. the governor's office called her last night, saying they have sent a manual application next

week, but she'd have to pay two months' premiums this week. >> however, the provider doesn't have any record of me, and therefore, doesn't have -- isn't even able to tell me the amount of the premium. >> nightmare scenario that just keeps repeating itself. analysts say that's the same problem the federal government is having. and that more problems like vicky's are likely to emerge in the coming months. bret. >> okay, jim, thank you. a classic supreme court mash-up tonight, mixing two rights that elicit emotional responses. justices heard argues about free speech and abortion rights. how pervasive were state authorities in arguing that these zones are absolutely necessary? >> well, the massachusetts attorney general, bret, says this law which creates a 35-foot buffer zone around entrances to

abortion clinics is necessary to make sure they're safe and accessible. anytime the government is going to limit someone's speech, like the plaintiff in the case, they have to shown they have done it in a way that is narrowly tailored to suit their interests. they are wondering whether they have made this statute narrow enough. >> it sounds like this may come down to very specific nuances in this case. >> justice elena kagan said she was quote a bit hung up on why the space buffer needs to be so big. she gestured to show how much space she was talking about by using the court room. also, an tonn scalia said he needs to see a difference between people showing up to pray, and people blocking entrances, so it looks like it could be a majority. cobbled together, it could revice the statute, if not, strike it down completely.

we'll have to wait until june to see what they decide. the national security agency, nsa, has implanted surveillance software in nearly 100,000 computers around the world. that's according to the "new york times." they have no evidence they have used technology on computers in the u.s. the nsa says its activities are focused and specificsly deployed against and only against valid foreign intelligence targets. the u.n.'s climate chief is urging global investors to pour a trillion dollars a year into clean energy technology. that's $1 trillion with a "t." we're told it's needed by 2030 in order to keep global warming from reaching a dangerous threshold. worldwide investment in green technology is currently about $300 billion a year. there's nothing like a good prank between politicians. we'll show you one. and no one is laughing at the cost of the new homeland security department headquarters here in washington. you won't, either.

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and now some fresh pickings from the political grapevine. the united states is no longer a bastion of economic freedom. it's not in the top ten. the u.s. is ranked 12th, two spots lower than last year in the index of economic freedom, put together by the wall street journal and the heritage foundation. the score is down for the seventh year in a row. even as the global average is on

the rise. the reason -- growth in government, new biurdensome regulations and a diminished sense of rule of law. hong kong remains the most free economically, north korea came in dead last in the 127 countries lasted. >> the latest example is the department of homeland security headquarters currently under construction in washington. a report says the building was projected to be done in 2015 at a cust of about $3.5 billion. those guesses appear to be a little more than off. current estimates say the building will cost an extra billion taxpayer dollars and it won't be done until 2026. dhs blames the recession.

>> finally, a committee of one for terry mcauliffe, the first time he interred the office bathroom. a giant stuffed bear. it was a prank by bob mcdonnell. local reports say it caused a good laugh among the staff. pranks appear to be a tradition when passing down the office. in 2006, mark warner left a cardboard cut-out of himself in the shower, waiting to greet tim kaine. both are now senators for the commonwealth. >> veterans and their supporters are incensed or will be after this story. national security correspondent jennifer griffin tells us about a new way to file for benefits that has the old guard ready to fight. >> the department of veterans affairs wants to change the decades old way in which veterans file for claims. advocacy groups are upset. >> it's a seismic shift in the way they want to process claims. >> to penalize veterans who don't have the capability or the

opportunity or the resources to file a claim electronically, sometimes by tens of thousands of dollars, is too much. it's too severe. >> for wounded veterans, the changes could be onerous. they have proposed mainidandate using that claim. the v.a. wants to get rid of the so-called informal claim process requiring veterans to register online. retroactive pay would be received starting at the date the form is fully completed, meaning the clock won't start ticking for partially complete hand-written forms as it does now. >> we have concerns because the average age of the american veteran is 64 years old, according to a study in 2011. the 2010 census reported than 55% of americans 65 and older do not have regular access to the internet. >> in a statement to fox news,

the v.a. says it's simply trying to modernize and catch up with its 400,000 backlogged claims. this proposed rule would require the use of standardized forms to help streamline the claims process and modernize the v.a. system to insure veterans and their families receive the benefits they deserve more quickly. defense secretary chuck hagel supports the change, arguing that younger vets want to be able to file their claims on their cell phones. but veterans groups say those with traumatic brain injury will find the new online forms difficult to complete and could lose benefits in the process. a final decision is expected in 30 days. bret. >> jennifer, thank you. the senate intelligence committee's report on benghazi. we'll discuss it with the fox all-stars in a minute. in the meantime, logon to our sr bing pulse and reserve your virtual seat on the panel. the truck is everything. and when you put them in charge of making an unbeable truck,

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we know that after the fact, several al qaeda members emerged as kind of leaders of the pack. so i can say with complete confidence that al qaeda was involved in it. and that certainly the state department knew that al qaeda had a major presence in benghazi. >> we know that there are guys who may have ties or loose affiliations to people who are also affiliated with al qaeda. that doesn't mean al qaeda core is directing or planning anything. in benghazi, and it doesn't mean they were involved here. we have no indications that they directed or planned this attack. >> well, the senate committee intelligence committee, came out with a report. led by dianne feinstein, in which it says among other things that multiple parts of al qaeda's international terrorist network were involved, including the groups al qaeda in the islamic mugreg, al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, both branches of al qaeda sworn allegiance to

zuwuhery who was number two under osama bin laden. what about all this and this report? let's bring in our panel, steve hay hayes. huan williams, and jonah goldberg this is what i call the go-to panel. and the go-to panel, but steve. >> well, i think the first thing that has to be said is, i have to spraz the senate democrats who issued this report. it's a tough report. it's very, very tough on the state department. obviously, as we just heard the report concludes without qualifiers that al qaeda elem t elements were involved. it names the four specific al qaeda groups who played a role or who contributed participant in the attack. both of which undermine the administration's narrative, certainly the narrative the "new york times" tried to sell a couple weeks ago, but it's a tough report. having said all that, it doesn't answer all the questions. there are many questions that still remain to be answered.

that's one of the criticisms the republicans in their additional views to the report, led by saxby cham bsax bae ch saxby chambliss also made note of. they could have been tougher on the talking points controversy. they skated right by the talking points and didn't really criticize the administration on that. the most striking thing about this report, especially when looked at in the context of the 450 pages that fox reported on over the last couple days, is the absence of president obama. he's just nowhere to be seen. in this narrative, in the narrative in the 450 pages when people are talking, the minute by minute things, he's just not present. >> here's senator dianne feinstein speaking about this report today. >> we know there were a number of events, attacks, that took place in the six months prior to benghazi. we also know that there was discussion about added security. we know the ambassador did not want added security.

we know there were concerns about benghazi. we know there were training camps around that area. and it is something that i think the state department has to really come to grips with. >> that's part of this report, juan, is what the state department knew about the security situation, when they knew it, and the fact they had re-upped that lease for that particular building for another year, something that wasn't noted in the accountability review board. >> right, i think to me, the big news out of this was, you have a report. as steve said, i think is very tough. coming from the democrats in the senate, and it says to me, the headline is this could have been prevented. now, how it could have been prevented is better intelligence. they say very clearly, the intelligence that was coming in was of poor quality and there were poor communications between the intelligence agency said and the state department. in fact, what we learned is the cia did take some steps to have

added security at their installation there. the state department did not. as you just heard from senator feinstein, there's also some suggestion that the ambassador didn't want that added security in benghazi. he had requested additional security in tripoli. to me, the big news here is about the language, and clearly, the republicans are still stuck on this business about affiliated. and the key argument would be sort of, does that mean they were under the control of al qaeda? the core group that threatened the united states, or is it simply some, you know, distant linkage you can draw on, say this guy knew that guy who knew that guy. >> you know what we know more about, is if we had more of the documents from the osama bin laden raid that lay out, allegedly, the connection between al qaeda core and those affiliate groups, but we don't have those. >> that's true. >> jonah? >> i think the reason why some people are focusing on the affiliated/al qaeda stuff is that the narrative that came out of the white house, and out of

the state department for a long time, was that this was a spontaneous movie review from a bunch of jihadists and it had nothing to do with terrorism whatsoever. we know that that's not true, so the fact they're related to al qaeda, why that's relevant is it shows this is a terrorist attack, which the president denied in a presidential campaign, and it was something serious that could have been prevented. i don't think it's whether we care if they had membership cards or not. i agree with steve to a certain extent that this is a much tougher report than i would have expected. it's by no means -- i don't want to say it's a white wash, but it's a very political document. it's an amazing thing to have such a searing indictment of the state department and the intelligence bureaucracy, and hillary clinton's name appears in the tire document, i think once. the state department made all these mistakes, did no independent intelligence investigation after this happened, after people died.

15 people have died who cooperated with the -- who cooperated with investigations in libya, and there's no mention of hillary. barack obama is basically absent, too. it seems like part of the negotiation that led to this report was a way to avoid casting specific blame on anybody who matters and just have this be a general indictment of the bureaucracy. >> people on bing weighing in. and the lines are up and down, but the benghazi blame. who's most to blame for benghazi terror attacks? al qaeda and its affiliates, 37%. president obama, 33%. a lot of people, steve, have thoughts about this. i guess the question from senator chambliss, talking about terrorist attacks, the second sound bite here, is why did this come to a protest and a video, and how? and they can't get that answered. take a listen to senator chambliss. >> i think very clearly they knew by the time that meeting

took place that this was a terrorist attack. and they had to discuss the ramifications of what a terrorist attack meant in light of the fact that the president had been out there talking about al qaeda had been decimated. did they know al qaeda was directly involved at that point in time? probably so. but again, i don't know what was discussed there. and i can't really answer that. >> and he's suggested they have been stonewalled by the state department and the white house. >> even democrats acknowledge the white house was not cooperative initially and still there are many things the committee would like to see that they haven't yet seen. i think there's an answer to the question, the video question. there was an initial report that mentioned an intelligence report, it was an intercept that mentioned the protests in cairo. the cia early on seized on that report because they had provided warnings to the administration about protests in cairo. the cia wanted that in their

report to the administration after the fact so they could point back and say we warned about these kind of protests. the ciadn't warned about benghazi. the administration then took that one single mention and blew it up as the cause of the attacks, which nobody believed that it was. and you saw in the e-mail exchange that came out with the talking points. david petraeus objects to the talking point in part because the reference to the cairo piece had been taken out and the emphasis was so much then on the video from that point forward. >> i want to go down the row quickly. political implications, perhaps for hillary clinton? >> well, i think republicans are clearly, have their eyes on this as being something they can use against hillary clinton in a presidential race. >> does it stick? >> no, it doesn't stick. look, in this report, tough as steve says it was, there's no evidence of a coverup of any kind. in fact, it said it was badly positioned military, bad intelligence. bad communication, but no

cover-up, no stand down, don't respond. nothing like that. >> john? >> i think it sticks to the extent it undermines her sense of good management of the state department. all she has going is she traveled a million miles. meanwhile, four americans died. >> yes, it matters, and i would argue it already has. if you look her favorability ratings, it's had an effect. they're down. >> is the president a liability for democrats in this election year? headed to north carolina today. keep it here. ♪ with an innovative showerhead plus wireless speaker, kohler is the proud sponsor of singing in the shower. about the most track-tested is ever... but the truth is... we don't have to. the experts have spoken. now it's your move. ♪

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it is good to be back in north carolina. senator kay hagan couldn't be here but i wanted to thank her publicly for the great work she is doing.

>> senator kay hagan will not be attending, obviously her home state. is the president worried that he is a drag on some vulnerable democrats in key election year. >> i think senator hagan's office addressed that she is working on important business. >> some take that as i can't go i'm washing my hair. >> this isn't a campaign event. i understand having been there the urgent desire to turn every story 10 months out into an election story. i promise you this is not. all i can tell you is that the president is traveling to north carolina tomorrow. >> and he, in fact, traveled to north carolina today. senator hagan did not. she was here in washington saying that there were some big votes and there were big votes in the senate. but what about this? we're back with the panel. jonah hagin trails five potential g.o.p. rivals by a point or two in the latest ppp poll democratic leaning poll. what about the president on the road for somebody like kay hagan. >> the fact that she is

behind five different people. democrats and kay haggen that is the issue there. obvious that barack obama is going to be a problem for red state swing district democrats out there. we know that because of the unpopularity of obamacare. weave know that because of the polls the fact that the generic ballot flipped in his favoring republicans in house races but, you know, the thing that's missing in all of this talk and there is a lot of chatter out there about his coat tails is barack obama has never had coat tails. in the 2010 election he stumped for a lot of democrats and it was historic loss for the democrats. the idea that now that his approval rating is so low and historically the approval rating of the president effects members of his observe party a lot. it seems to me at best is he neutral and probably a hinderance in a lot of places. >> juan, there was another trip to louisiana that senator mary landrieu did not attend the event there. >> right. >> are these democrats potentially saying to the white house hey, can we skip these states? >> could we skip these states? >> you said a presidential

visit here, why do it. are you hurting us? >> no. i don't think they say don't go. what they are saying is look, there is a tremendous amount, in fact we saw the tremendous amounts of ads and attacks on obamacare and on president obama himself. his numbers are down. the consequence is that if you are in a close contest and you are struggling for independence, i don't think any of these folks are going to get republicans. you really don't want to get so close to a polarizing figure that you would drive away those independents and have them see you as a surrogate for president obama. so, it's a hard line political calculus. the decision is right now it might benefit president obama in terms of his overall strategy of saying i'm reviving the economy, i'm focused on jobs, but it doesn't benefit a kay hagan it doesn't benefit a mary landrieu. >> the "new york times" today steve had a big piece about how democrats are worried about early ads funded by koch brothers. >> democrats should be worried about those ads

because they are very very effective. they are effective because they are using the words of democrats against them and linking them closely with president obama on an issue where democrats are in a distinct minority obamacare. they are very effective ads. we will see those election day. republicans would be crazy not to harp on that to make that the center of their campaign against democrats going through november. you know, one word about president obama's claim that 2014 is going to be a year of action. i mean,s to anybody believe that? anybody believe that in washington 2014 is going to be a year of action? you have got a president who is as unpopular as he has ever been. democrats who running away from him. republicans who feel emboldened. issues that -- we have failed to resolve in washington going back years. >> so you are looking for big things out of the state of the union? [ laughter ] >> nothing is going to happen. everybody understands that. i think if you are working for the president, it almost has to sound a little bit desperate for the president to continue to say this is

going to be a year of action like it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy. nobody thinks it's going to be because it's not, because it's not. >> i was going to say that's a good point, brit. -- bret. i thought you would be objecting to it, steve, he is going to do things on his open and he is going to make more speeches. more words and guess what, i think he has gotten more people in position at the cabinet level because of the nuclear option exercised by democrats in the senate that allows some of these nominations to go through both judicial post and for the agencies. >> but a lot of things that he wants to do unilaterally are things like do the global warming, climate change anti-coal stuff will hurt democrats terribly in a lot of the unilateral stuff he wants to do on obamacare including something people don't talk about enough the millions of letters going out to small insurance plans that will hit people in october which is deadly. >> there will be a lot to talk about. that's it for the panel. stay tuned for another scandal rocking the tristate

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here are tonight's bing highlights highly political report surprisingly putting a lot of became on the state department. all parties disagreed with parties leading the way with juan that senator hagan's decision not to appear with the president is a hard nosed risky in a risky ways race. finally chris christie and bridge gate a major topic in the tristate area. now new yorkers have to digest another scandal this time featuring mayor de blasio. >> the mayor bill de blasio may not necessarily eat pizza like most new yorkers. the mayor stopped by for a staten island this afternoon. he eats with a knife and fork. >> i often start with a knife and fork but then i cross over to the american approach and pick it up when i go farther into the pizza. >> you are eating a slice of

pizza. >> start out to the italian and go to the american and go with the mopping goalian cheese slug, no. >> controversy. thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. that's it for this "special report," fair, balanced and unafraid. greta goes "on the record" right now. and only on the record tonight confronting the reverend jeremiah wright. there is new controversy who mentored president obama, that is until the 2008 presidential campaign. reverend wright known for making these very inflammatory comments like this one. >> not god bless america. god damn america that's in the bible. for killing innocent people. god damn america for treating us citizens as less than human. god damn america islam. >> here is a question. why in the world would the chicago's teacher's union invite such a controversial speaker to their event today? in minutes you will hear what reverend wright told the teacher afternoon